Presbyterian minister Hugh Stewart Fullerton asked his congregation in 1841: "Shall we endeavor to form an academy to provide better educational advantages to the young citizens of this remote community?" Predating the founding of the town of South Salem, the Salem Academy was built and opened in 1842, its stone coming from a quarry south of Greenfield. Its primary purpose was to prepare ministers and teachers for the West. Professor J.A. Lowes served as principal during the "golden age" of the academy from 1848 to 1858. (continued on other side)

Text, side B

The Chillicothe Presbytery controlled the Salem Academy from 1859 to 1907. During this period it functioned as a junior college, with its students going on to other institutions after a two-year term. Attendance dropped significantly during the Civil War while many students served in the Union Army. By the time the academy closed in 1907, more than 1,500 students "including three U.S. congressmen and Governor Joseph B. Foraker" had received instruction here. Serving since as a community building, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.